Narrow escape
by LostHighwayEscapee
Summary: They all made it. But only just...Alternate Xenoblade plotline. Events diverge at the end of the colony 9 assault. Indirect spoilers on account of different plot progression. I would recomend finishing the game before reading just in case.
1. Chapter 1

Xenoblade – Narrow escape

* * *

An alternate Xenoblade storyline. Events diverge from the original plot at the end of the colony 9 assault, during the closing stages of the battle with Metal Face.

I recomend completing, or at least getting to a seven character party in Xenoblade before reading this as there are some indirect spoilers, and certain key events and revelations occur earlier than they do in the game.

"" = spoken, ("") = thoughts, Italics = whispered/subliminal, Bold = Loud/Overwhelming

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

The damned vision flashes before Shulk's eyes yet again. The worst part now is that he knows exactly what it means. It's always filled him with a sense of foreboding, but since realising that crashed mobile artillery was part of it he's realised he has had no time to make any plans. The only thing he's been able to do is load the thing with the prototype ether shells he'd swiped from the weapons lab and hope for the best. The three of them are close to broken, and much as Fiora has taken the heat off them momentarily they know they'll have to get back to their feet before they can help her. The artillery has already been damaged, but something new happens…the vision fades. Fiora fires the main cannon into Metal Face at point blank range, and it crashes to the ground, its head now ablaze. It seems faced mechon are not completely resistant to ether. The vision is now less vivid, but still there. The artillery locks up, the damage it's sustained taking its toll. Metal Face slowly rises back to its feet, but it looks off balance, possibly dazed by the impact. It closes in and grabs the artillery, its burning face glaring directly into Fiora's eyes. She's in no position to fight back anymore, but she's bought a little more time for the others to recover. Shulk shouts to draw its attention.

"You aren't finished with me yet…you're here for the Monado…so come and get it!"

Metal face lifts the mobile artillery with Fiora still in it, evidently planning on throwing it at Shulk. It's lost track of Reyn though, who strikes the back of its knee, knocking it off balance. Dunban follows this up, managing to pierce its eye, the armour on its face weakened by the ether shell. It tries to crush Dunban under the artillery, but Reyn manages to knock him clear. The impact is tremendous though, Reyn and Dunban are thrown into a nearby wall and Fiora cries out as it smashes into the ground. Shulk charges metal face head on, utterly enraged at what's happened. He's dimly aware that Reyn is still moving, but Dunban is still, and he can't see Fiora at all. Metal face is overbalanced from its attack, and Shulk hacks into its face as rapidly as he can, leaving a large number of gashes in the weakened armour. Metal face recoils and then flees, leaving Shulk to pick up the pieces.

"Shulk…I think I'm okay…Dunban's alive, but out cold though, and Fiora…oh no…oh please no."

Shulk spots Fiora. She's been thrown clear of the wreckage, but she's lying very still. A small pool of blood is forming under her.

"Fiora…no…this can't be happening…not after everything!"

Shulk rushes to her. Blood is running from her mouth, the sight of this causes Shulk to gasp.

"Shulk…please…tell me she's okay."

Shulk checks her pulse and finds her heart is still beating. He can't see any obvious serious injuries on her body, but he can see patches of blood all over her as he searches.

"She's alive, but she's bleeding…I can't find the injury…we need help here!"

Shulk's mind goes blank in panic. He tries to check her pulse again and finds nothing.

"Reyn!...Her heart's stopped!...What do I do!...Help me!"

Fiora suddenly coughs, spitting blood and a broken tooth out.

"Fiora!"

Shulk hugs her and bursts into tears.

"Owwww…knocked out one my back teeth...least it won't show…"

"You're alive!"

"Owowowowow!…Don't hug so hard Shulk…"

"Sorry…sniff."

Reyn manages to get back to his feet.

"Looks like I can stand…you're alive…I thought we'd lost you."

"Shulk, Reyn…you're okay…No! Dunban!"

Fiora tries to get up and run over to him but falls due to her injuries. Luckily Shulk catches her.

"Don't worry, he's alive…we took a bit a tumble when metal face tried to squash us"

"Reyn…do you think you can carry him?"

"Yeah…you take Fiora, we'll get them back to Dunban's…he's got some first aid there"

Fiora's in pretty bad shape from her ordeal. Her lost tooth has made her mouth bleed quite a lot, giving the illusion of an internal injury, but fortunately this doesn't appear to be the case. She's covered in bruising and has enough concussion to stop her walking, but she's far more concerned about Dunban though…even after sword valley he managed to stay conscious.

They reach Dunban's house. By this time he's regaining some degree of consciousness and is muttering semi coherently. As they lie him down he seems to come back into focus a little.

"…Fiora…"

"Don't worry, she's alive. Shulk managed to drive that monster off."

"Thank you…and Reyn…nice save back there."

"Don't mention it, that's what friends are for!"

"How you feeling?"

"Not good, but I've had worse…I'll be fine."

Fiora notices Dunban has regained consciousness and calls out to him.

"Dunban! I thought we'd lost you back there…"

"I honestly thought that was the end of you back there Fiora…"

With a little help from Shulk Fiora makes her way over to Dunban and hugs him. She starts sobbing, and much to the surprise of Reyn and Shulk so does Dunban, doing his best to hug her with his good arm.

"…Things got pretty intense out there. You okay Reyn?"

"Just a bit of bruising, guess I got lucky. I think poor Dunban might've cushioned me from the impact. You okay Shulk?"

"Don't seem to be injured. I feel pretty sick though."

"That'll be the adrenaline. That's the first time I've seen you get the red mist, quite a spectacle too…you do realise your hands are bleeding?"

"I thought that was Fiora's blood. How'd I manage that?"

"There's blood on the Monado, it'll be from where you were gripping it. Once you've got them covered up we need to make sure those two get some proper treatment. They took a lot more punishment than we did."

Shulk cleans his hands up and then he and Reyn do their best to give Fiora and Dunban some medical attention. Dunban is in a pretty bad state; the stress put on his body by the ordeal has aggravated many of his old injuries on top of the fresh ones he's sustained. Fortunately he appears to be stable. Closer inspection of Fiora reveals that she doesn't appear to have any broken bones, and her bleeding actually wasn't as bad as it appeared to be; Shulk hadn't realised his hands were bleeding so some of it is actually his. While in considerable discomfort, she also appears to be stable.

"Okay, that's probably the best we can do right now."

"Do you think it might be worth trying to get some of the medical officers down here? We're no doctors…"

"I don't think we'd get anywhere, things got very nasty outside the fortress so they'll have their hands full."

"Shulk…how'd you actually manage to drive that thing off?"

"I'm not sure Fiora, that bits kind of hazy. After I saw you get slammed I pretty much lost it"

"I saw what happened Shulk. You went berserk, charged that mechon head on and then pretty much took its face off"

"…Good. I thought that thing had just murdered Fiora and Dunban. Shame I didn't destroy it"

"Shulk…you're shaking."

"I thought I'd lost you back there…that feeling of rage and despair, it's still lingering…I'm just so glad you're okay now…sorry, you don't mind if go out for some air?...I still feel pretty sick."

Shulk goes outside.

"Reyn, are you sure he's okay? He's supposed to be an engineer, not a front line assault trooper."

"I've seen some of the lads get pretty fired up for combat before…but that was something else. He was putting so much force behind his attacks he tore his hands open, and he didn't even notice."

"Give him some time and he'll go back to normal. We all survived, and I think we'll all make a full recovery. Once that sinks in he'll be fine…"

The sound of Shulk being sick somewhere outside can be heard

"…He'll feel better for that. Reminds me of the time a certain green soldier couldn't believe he'd emerged alive and victorious from his first skirmish with the mechon many years ago."

"Don't put it like that…you're not that old"

Shulk comes back in.

"Sorry about that…"

"Could I ask a favour of you two? I'm not going to be much use if Fiora needs anything so could you stay the night?"

"Likewise, if Dunban needs anything…"

"No problems, but we're both pretty bad cooks so I hope you don't mind take away curry for breakfast…the last thing you want on top of everything else is food poisoning."

Shulk and Reyn spend the night. By the next morning Fiora is able to walk again, but still dizzy, and Dunban seems to be faring better. He too is walking but clearly in quite a bit of pain. Reyn has been out to examine the damage from yesterday's events.

"The colony got hit pretty hard…a lot of good people died yesterday. The air defences are down to one battery and pretty much all the vehicles got wrecked…Vangarre got a bloody air transport dropped on him, and somehow he's still alive. Gonna be a while before he's back in action mind. There is some good news though! The clean up's underway and the colony's pretty much functioning again already…and thanks to our exploits yesterday there's no shortage of mechon scrap kicking around."

"That'll make Dickson's plans run a little more smoothly then. He mentioned something about needing mechon materials for his latest weapons project."

"Oh, and Giorgio's place got away unscathed so I got us all a curry."

"Nice one, I've got my appetite my back now."

The four of them have some breakfast.

"That's some good curry…nice to taste something other than blood."

"You okay Fiora?"

"I'll be fine…aside from the tooth I don't think there's any lasting damage and nothing that'll show. You okay Dunban?"

"I think so. Just feels like a really bad hangover now"

"You two better get plenty of rest. I know you both got a habit of saying you're fine regardless."

"Speak for yourself Shulk, are you sure you're okay?"

"Come on, I got off the lightest of all of us, of course I'm alright."

"…."

"What's that face for Reyn?"

"Your hands are bleeding again."

"Damn…I'll get them cleaned up."

"Sorry for pushing the issue a little here, but how the hell did you not notice?"

"They sting a bit now, but…how could I have not realised?"

"I think I know. We'll have a little chat later Shulk, and put some gloves on, it'll give you some protection."

"…Okay, I'll be a few minutes, I've got some at the lab."

Shulk heads out to get his gloves.

"So…what's going on here?"

"I noticed he reopened the injuries to his hands when we brought up the issue of you two being hurt. My guess is he's still utterly furious deep down that Metal Face nearly killed both of you. I've never seen him properly angry before, and it looks like when his temper does go, it really goes. I don't think he'll calm down until the root of the problem's been dealt with, so I reckon we're gonna be going mechon hunting sometime soon, and to be honest after what happened yesterday I'm looking forward to it."

"You're going to wait until I'm recovered first though. I'm not about to let you two go off an get yourselves killed…and I want a piece of Metal Face too, I nearly watched it kill the three of you."

"I'm not too sure Shulk would be too happy considering what happened…"

"…what happened Reyn, is that Fiora saved our bacon when Metal Face was about to eviscerate us. Shulk might have driven it off afterwards but if she hadn't charged in we wouldn't be here now."

"Sorry…you did save us back there Fiora. I don't think he'll need too much convincing once he realises that."

Shulk gets back with hands now covered.

"Okay, that's sorted. So what do you think's going on?"

"I noticed you clench your fists when you get angry, and that's what's reopening those wounds."

"…I see. I've never really felt like this before so I'm not sure what to do."

"I'll tell you what we'll do. As soon as I'm recovered enough we head out and find some kind of productive outlet for that anger. I've got a feeling we weren't the only colony that got hit, so I suggest we head for colony 6."

"Are you sure about this? Things didn't exactly go well yesterday…we all survived, but only just."

"Something tells me one way or another we're gonna run into Metal Face again. We've got a better idea of what to expect next time. I reckon we're gonna have to deal with lot more mechon now as well, I think that attack was probably the beginning of their latest move."

"I'd hoped Sword Valley would have seen them off for a bit longer, but you're probably right Reyn."

"Okay then, but I'm still concerned about Metal Face. Up until Fiora blasted it nothing we did seemed to work, even the Monado."

"Another good reason why we need to head out. I think you've probably made all the progress you can with the monado in that lab. Chances are the answers we need lie outside the colony now. Isn't it supposed to be about as old as the Bionis itself? Maybe some archaeological sites will contain some clues."

"I can't really argue with that. In truth yesterday I made more progress with the Monado research than throughout the entire past year. I'll check Dickson's notes again regarding historical details on the monado, see if I can get any indications of good places to look."

"Looks like we've got something resembling a plan now. I think I'll be fit to travel in a few days, I'm still pretty dizzy but the curry settled nicely. How about you Dunban?"

"I think I'll need a little longer than you unfortunately. I wasn't as ready for battle yesterday as I'd led myself to believe and nearly paid for it dearly, all three of you ended up having to save me. I've got a few other preparations that need to be made as well, but as soon as I'm ready I'll catch you up."

Fiora, Reyn and Shulk spend the next few days preparing for the journey ahead. Much to Fiora's relief Dunban recovers somewhat faster than expected. Once the three of them are ready they say goodbye to Dunban.

"Best of luck, I won't be far behind you. Oh, and don't forget to take the Monado."

"Thanks Dunban, and before I go…"

Fiora gives Dunban a big hug, and much to his surprise lifts him off the floor.

"…You don't need to worry about me; I'm pretty strong now you know. You're getting awfully light mind, be careful you don't overdo it."

"Don't worry, as soon as you're gone Dickson's coming round, and we've got a solid diet of kebabs and beer planned. I'll put the weight back on in no time."

"Hehehehe! See you soon!"

As the three of them leave they spot Dickson carrying what looks suspiciously like a crate of booze and a take away box.

"I thought he was joking…"

The three of them make their way to Tephra cave, and discover the dead trade party shortly after.

"Doesn't look like mechon did this from the injuries...Nasty way to go as well"

"We'd better return them to the Bionis…they need to be at peace now."

The three of them return the bodies.

"I hope we don't have to that again anytime soon."

"They were an armed trade party. Whatever did that to them is something we really want to avoid."

"I know Tephra cave isn't exactly supposed to be safe, but I've never heard of anything quite that dangerous lurking in here."

"We'd better get some rest then. We want to be fresh and alert if we run into trouble."

"Who's going on first watch?"

"My turn I think."

"Thanks Reyn."

Fiora and Shulk get some sleep while Reyn keeps watch. As his watch comes to an end he notices the Monado activate on its own. While he sleeps Shulk has a vision of Fiora and Reyn being killed by the arachno queen.

"Arrrghh!"

Shulk goes from fast asleep to charging with the Monado drawn before Reyn can react. He slices a rocky outcrop apart before realising what's happening."

"Calm down! Nightmare, Shulk, you were having a nightmare."

Shulk struggles not to throw up. He only just succeeds. He's very pale, sweating and shaking.

"You look terrible…what on Bionis happened?"

"That was horrible…it was here, I'd got separated from you two, and when I found you again…that thing must've been an arachno queen…I've only ever seen them in textbooks…"

Fiora runs over to him and hugs him, moving them both towards Reyn.

"It's okay, we're here, and we're all fine…"

"…It was…eating Reyn…and Fiora…your head…"

"You can stop there or I'll be picking up where you left off with that nightmare. Bloody spiders of all things…"

"I've never had a nightmare that vivid…it seemed real…"

"Don't worry; there's been no report of an arachno queen in tephra cave for years. Besides, we'd have seen arachno pods if there was one."

Suddenly Reyn goes pale and points open mouthed across the chamber.

"Reyn…what's the matter, don't joke around here…"

The two of them glance to where he's pointing. There's an arachno pod there. Noticing Reyn's look of terror and Shulk's highly agitated state Fiora manages to keep her cool and responds in a deadpan tone.

"…let's get out of here…right now."

"Reyn…was the monado active when I was sleeping?"

"I don't see how…"

"Was it bloody active!?"

"Y-yes it was."

"What's the quickest way out?"

"We head on towards Bionis knee."

"Okay then…we stay close together…do not lose sight of each other, we absolutely must not get separated."

"Why'd you ask about the monado?"

"That nightmare…it was a vision, a warning. The monado gave me them before when we were fighting the mechon, and earlier, it showed me…arrrgh!"

Shulk accidently makes contact with a stray webbing strand and is pulled into the chamber above.

"Shulk! We'll find you, keep talking!"

"How many!? This place is infested!"

Shulk runs along and eventually reaches the ledge above the lake.

"There he is! Shulk, were coming, hang in there!"

"Don't these things ever give up!? Leave me alone, I'm not a menu option!"

Shulk outruns the spiders but not looking where he's going runs straight off the ledge and into the arachno queen's chamber. He lands in some webbing and gets stuck.

"Don't panic Shulk…noise or movement will attract them..."

Fiora and Reyn get to the chamber.

"There he is! Reyn, I'll cut him free, you watch our backs."

Fiora and Reyn jump down and Fiora runs across and starts to cut Shulk free from the webbing.

"We're with you Shulk, we'll be fine so don't…"

"No! It's going to kill Reyn!"

"What you talking about, there's nothing…"

Fiora sees the look of terror in Shulk's eyes and decides to trust him, he's freed enough to finish the job of getting out of the web himself. Fiora starts to run towards Reyn, and as she does she spots the previously hidden arachno queen moving into position to strike.

"Reyn! Look out!"

Reyn doesn't react in time but Fiora reaches him and tackles him just before the strike can connect, knocking him clear. Shulk desperately hacks away the remaining web as the arachno queen moves into position for a second attempt.

"Fiora, get behind me!"

Reyn does his best to shield her from the incoming strike, but it's obvious to Shulk that something that size and strength would tear through a gunlance like paper. He charges towards them with the monado drawn in desperation.

"No! that's not gonna be the future! I'm not gonna let you!"

A new symbol appears on the Monado, and at the last second Shulk manages to summon a shield. Reyn successfully blocks the strike.

"Reyn, Fiora, you're alive!"

"Don't be celebrating just yet…"

The arachno queen tries to strike Shulk but Reyn blocks it again.

"…and don't let your guard down either. We've got some bug stomping to do."

"Nice save Reyn…come on, let's clean out this infestation."

Fiora starts to deal with the swarm, but Shulk immediately charges the arachno queen head on. Through his visions he manages to sustain a relentless offensive, and he starts to push the creature back. Reyn assists Fiora in finishing off the swarm, and it isn't long before they can assist Shulk. They both notice he's picked up some minor cuts in fight but he doesn't even seem to have noticed them; in fact he seems to be almost completely focused on trying to kill the arachno queen. This does draw the creature's attention completely and allows Fiora to flank it. Reyn supports Shulk up front and after landing a particularly forceful blow one of its mandibles is torn off. The creature rears up in response, and Fiora takes this as her cue to dash under it, slicing into the soft underbelly as she does. It stats to bleed extremely heavily from the wound; having had some vital structure damaged. As it staggers away mortally wounded Shulk charges and slices into it with all the force he can muster. The Monado cuts into it but Shulk keeps pushing forwards, resulting in the huge creature being sliced in half.

"Whoa…I think it's dead now."

"You okay Shulk?"

Shulk's tightly gripping the Monado and shaking. There's some of his blood dripping from the hilt. He regains his composure and deactivates the Monado. He then simply walks over to the two of them and hugs them.

"That nightmare was a vision of the future. I had one just like it back at colony 9…I saw Metal Face kill Fiora…"

"Now I understand all that screaming you did…but we all made it. It wasn't the future."

"It is if we don't try to change it. Back at colony 9 I wasn't sure, but the vision was so disturbing I had to do something. The only truly identifiable thing in it was the mobile artillery, so I stole those prototype ether rounds from the armoury and loaded them at the first chance I got…lucky guess that paid off."

"That explains why it had incendiaries. Thinking about it now it was on a training exercise, it shouldn't have had any special equipment at all."

"I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you sooner, my heads not exactly been clear since the attack…and Fiora, thank you for trusting me even when you had nothing to go on…that's what changed the future."

"You did give us a little warning, but we'll have an easier time if you tell us when you have one of these visions. The sooner we know and the more we know the better we can prepare, and it's gonna be a lot easier to change the future if all of us act together."

"Sorry…If anything like it happens again I'll tell you straight away."

"Oh, and you're giving me a little too much credit…I don't recall anyone ever being able to create a shield with the Monado before."

"Come on; let's get out of here, who knows when those bloody spiders are gonna be back."

The three of them exit the cave onto Bionis knee. The sight of Mechonis greets them.

"Oh wow. We're gonna have to take a break here, that view is something else."

"Mechonis itself. It's pretty astonishing when you think that it actually used move."

"Same goes for the Bionis, and I guess that explains why as far as we know pretty much all the Homs colonies left were only built after the great clash."

"Well, there are bits and pieces that suggest something was around the site of colony 9 before. I seem to remember Shura mentioning there might be some evidence in the blocked off parts of Tephra cave…that said there's no way in hell I'm going back in there for a while."

"Yeah, right now I just want some fresh air…and this certainly isn't. What's that smell?"

"Ah, um…sorry about that, I think it might be us…well…mostly me."

"Shulk, I know it was a bit scary back there but…I promise we won't tell anyone else…"

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that. I got splattered with arachno insides when I finished the queen off, and then I managed to slime both of you during that hug afterwards."

"Funny what you don't notice when you've just had an intense experience. Looks like you got me a little, but it's just my top so I think I'll just need a change of clothes, how about you Reyn?"

"Yeah, I'm not too bad either, a quick change'll sort me out; how about you Shulk?"

"I might as well have taken a bath in the stuff, it's even soaked into my underwear…I'm not going to get away with half measures, I need a full change of clothes now and as soon as we get onto the Guar Plains I'll have to find somewhere to get a half decent wash."

"Still, we'd better take a break here; Reyn didn't get any rest in the cave."

"Fair point, given what we just went through we're getting more than our fair share of surprises so being rested up will have to take priority. I just hope you two can cope with the stench."

"You ever been in the locker rooms after a training session on a hot day? I've coped with worse Shulk, trust me on this."

"I've been looking forward to a spot of adventure for some time now, and something like this goes with the territory. You should've seen some of the states Dunban came back in after his recon missions; days' worth of dried sweat and I can't see how he couldn't have realised he'd crawled through…"

"We don't need that much detail Fiora. We might as well get changed; there're some bushes over there that ought to give us a bit of privacy."

Fiora and Reyn get into some fresh clothes, but when it comes to Shulk's turn…

"Aw man, they're sticking to me!"

"Look on the bright side, if you did have an accident nobody would be any the wiser!"

Shulk eventually manages to peel off his decidedly vile clothes and get into something clean. The three of them set up camp.

"You two don't mind if I get a little shut eye?"

"No problems."

Reyn starts to snore a little after a short time.

"So that's the legendary snoring? I got the impression it was supposed to sound like a rusty chainsaw, that's barely louder than crickets."

"You know how people tend to exaggerate things, plus the barracks bunkhouse creates something of echo from what I've heard."

"So then, how are you really holding up Shulk."

"I think I'll be okay…well, I'm not sure I'm cut out for this. You and Reyn are both really good in a tight spot, but I have to rely on pulling some fancy trick with the Monado to make the difference, and I'm worried I might not be able to do it next time."

"Are you having second thoughts?"

"I'd be selfish of me to ask us to turn back. Fiora…I'm sorry about having my head stuck up my backside this past year. After sword valley I got obsessed with trying to crack the Monado and kind of withdrew from life a bit…and the whole time even with your commitment to looking after Dunban you still went out of your way to be nice to me."

Fiora sits down behind Shulk.

"I knew why you did that Shulk…you just wanted to protect us by figuring out the Monado; and I know you wanted make sure Dunban didn't get hurt again trying to protect us."

"Even so…I should have tried to be more supportive to you. I kept telling myself it'd work out for everyone if I cracked the Monado, but deep down I had this horrible feeling the defence force weren't exactly being as supportive as they should've been."

"I suppose now's as good a time as any to talk about it, especially now we're away from the colony. After sword valley there were a lot of…how best to put it…issues to do with defence force politics. Due to his injuries its was generally expected that if Dunban was to return to defence force duty it would be in a non-combatant role, but since most of the senior officers are actually non-combatants themselves they saw this as a threat to their positions."

"Dunban had already proven beyond a shadow of a doubt he was a hero, and I guess with that under his belt he'd have been able to influence the defence force much more strongly in a commanding role."

"Well they didn't like that one bit…and they were willing to play dirty to keep their positions of power secure."

"Hang on a minute…that business with Vangarre…"

"I reckon they were leaning on him to get me to join. I know he'd been keen on me joining for a while, but after sword valley I got quite a lot of requests. Something I couldn't help but notice is he actually looked relived when I turned them down."

"I guess they wanted you in the defence force so they could use you to manipulate Dunban; and I suppose Vangarre didn't really approve of that kind of tactic."

"While nothing was ever confirmed I certainly wouldn't put it past them. It's no coincidence that colonel Leater retired as soon as Emmy started to rise up the ranks."

"I should've realised what was happening..."

"It's not your fault Shulk, and don't worry about it; we managed. They made a few empty threats but there was little they could actually do without risking the ire of the troops; in fact I think it might've backfired on them. Dunban only mentioned this to me just before we left but the general was forced to resign; nobody's completely sure why but it got out amongst the force that he was trying to pressure Dunban so I think that might have contributed. What's more it's pretty much a given that he's going to get promoted to fill the now vacant post."

Fiora wraps her arms around Shulk.

"You know you did succeed in the end…it's thanks to you that Dunban doesn't have to pick the Monado up anymore."

"I'm glad something good came out of that, and thanks for convincing me to go on this adventure with you."

"Still…you're certainly gonna need that wash when we get to the Guar plains, you really do stink."

While momentarily a little hurt by Fiora's comment, Shulk can't help but notice she hasn't loosened her hold on him.

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere on Bionis a discussion takes place

"He acted on the vision. He's sharper than we gave him credit. This might be a problem."

"Not as much as it could have been. He may already have figured out he can defy fate, but in his current state of mind he'll be more than sufficiently malleable for our purposes."

"An unexpected bonus…but I'm not convinced it'll be enough to counterbalance the complications arising from this deviation from fate…she's now an unexpected element in the equation. On top of this the motivating factors are different, and the central reason for him making the journey is gone. We can't guarantee the meeting as things stand."

"Mechon activity isn't getting any less intense. He'll have no shortage of reasons thanks to that. They may yet put our original plan back on track for us; we don't have a clear vision of the future at this stage, so there's nothing to say she'll survive their next encounter."

"Even so, leaving things to chance isn't the way we do things. There are still some cohesive elements in the vision even now. If we use those as a base we can structure a rough plan of action and slot the remaining pieces into place as things clear. You're being very optimistic regarding her as well. That last encounter…she was the one that defied fate there."

"Interesting…she didn't have any significant prompt, yet she still managed…so it would seem that she's actually leading them now. Perhaps we need to look at this differently. If we consider her as a fixed element in our projections and consider her as a dominant rather than secondary decider...we need to consider her reasons for making the journey. It appears that by her own impulses she'll eventually bring him to us."

"So what was once an obstacle has now become a driving force. I'm still not in favour of using her; based on most of our original projections she was the undoing of the scenarios…her removal was a necessity."

"But the original scenario is now void, and the current situation lies outside of anything our projections could foresee. Her survival could genuinely be in our interests now...ironically she has remained pivotal in him making the journey to us, just for completely different reasons."

* * *

If any of you have any preferences with regard to which story you want me to push ahead with feel free to PM me. Unless explicitly stated i'll be trying to continue all of my stories.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1 has recieved a small update - it's not much though; just a little extra detail for the arachno queen battle.

* * *

Chapter 2

* * *

Back with Fiora, Reyn and Shulk.

The three of them head on to the Gaur Plains, Reyn making no attempt to hide his enthusiasm for landscape.

"Nothing like the great outdoors; the fresh air, the sounds of wildlife, the…absolutely bloody enormous gogol…"

The three of them give said beastie a wide berth.

"Since when did gogols ever get that big?"

"Well, allegedly they grow more slowly as they age, but don't actually ever stop growing, so really old ones can end up huge."

"I don't remember that being in our textbooks…"

"It isn't; I picked up that titbit from Dickson."

"Did he give you any tips regarding Flamii?"

Several Flamii are advancing on them in an attacking formation. Fiora gets something of a glint in her eyes.

"Yeah, they go down great deep fired or with a bit of cranberry sauce!"

"Oh goody, I was getting hungry as well!"

The Flamii realise a little too late they've gone from hunters to hunted. Within a few more minutes they've gone from dangerous avian predators to a meal.

"That's us sorted for meat for the next few days. Hey Shulk, you want to get a wash now?"

"Definitely, I'm starting to get really itchy."

Shulk starts to get himself cleaned in a nearby pool.

"Oh man, that is so much better! Anyone else want to come for dip?"

"Maybe later, someone's gonna have to make sure no one steals your clothes."

"Were out on the plains, who'd do something like that?"

"Well during the joint exercises earlier this year some of our lads thought they'd take a quick dip between sessions. They couldn't have been more than five minutes, according to them, and they get back to find their clothes gone."

"So they had to make their way back to base in their underwear?"

"Worse."

"That's downright cruel. Did they ever find out who did it?"

"Nobody was ever officially blamed, and the clothes were later found in a tirkin nest."

"You think a bunch of tirkin made off with them?"

"It wouldn't be the first time those birds have swiped stuff, but there was one last twist. The nest in question had been abandoned for some time, so the real culprit must've planted them there."

"Hang on a minute, I think I can see something coming towards us…it's a kid…oh no! he's in trouble!"

"We'd better help him, those are ardun. If they catch him they'll make mincemeat out of him."

"Sorry about this Shulk."

"Don't worry about it, I'll catch you up."

Reyn and Fiora head towards the chase. As they get closer Shulk catches up with them, although he's now wearing a towel around his waist and not a lot else.

"You okay kid? Don't worry, we've got this covered."

("Only just…")

"Who are you? And why is he wearing a towel?"

"We'll explain later, these two don't look like they're open to negotiations so you'd be better get behind us."

"Okay then, everyone ready for this?"

"As always (For the fight, anyway…)."

"Let's waste these jokers!"

"Time to get wild!"

The three of them engage the berserk ardun. While they have a three to two numbers advantage Shulk finds himself having to be a bit more careful with his movements due to his precarious state of clothing. Neverless it doesn't take long for them to get the upper hand, with Shulk taking a support role and relaying his visions to Fiora and Reyn. Fiora swiftly dodges a charge from one of them, and it overbalances trying to change direction and collides with the other. Both ardun are knocked to the ground by the collision; Reyn jumps onto the back of one of them and brings his gun lance down as hard as he can on the back of its neck. The creature stops moving and a trickle of blood starts to come from its nose and mouth. The second one recovers quite quickly though; it tries to charge Reyn but he throws himself clear. Its momentum carries it towards Shulk; he activates the buster function of the Monado and lands a downward strike on the creature. Unfortunately it's a glancing blow; it shaves off some of the beast's armour plate around its head, but combined with the shock of the bright light this causes it to rear up. A moment later a knife lands in the now exposed soft flesh on its head and the creature collapses. The three of them inspect the beasts and find neither of them are still breathing, and Fiora retrieves her knife.

"Bit of hairy situation you got yourself in there; what's your name by the way?"

"I'm Juju."

"I'm Fiora, and this is Reyn and Shulk. How'd you end up being chased by a couple of Ardun?"

"Well…I'd taken a buggy out to scout the surroundings and something went wrong with it. It suddenly started smoking and ground to a halt, and the next thing I know those two beasties were bearing down on me, and the rest you pretty much saw."

"Is this buggy anywhere nearby?"

"It's not far."

Juju points to some smoke rising from nearby. The four of them make the short walk to the buggy.

"That doesn't look good, but I might be able to fix it. Okay if I take a closer look?"

"Be my guest."

"Okay then…ah, don't worry, it's just a ruptured cylinder. They smoke like mad when they go so it looks far worse than it is. Okay then, the buggy should have some spares on board…and you're in luck. Just a simple case of switching them around…like so…and everything should be fine again."

The buggy starts up again.

"Thanks!...umm, sorry if this is a bit of an awkward question but…why are you wearing nothing but a towel?"

"I was getting a wash when we saw you getting chased and didn't have time to get my clothes back on."

"Hang on, are your clothes back there?"

"They should be…is there something I should know?"

"There's a Tirkin nest just near there."

Shulk turns a little pale at this news.

"Uh oh…we'd better get back there fast!"

"Before you go I'm staying a camp nearby…here's the directions."

"Thank's Juju, okay let's get Shulk's gear pronto."

The three of them part ways with Juju and quickly head back to the pool…only to find…

"Oh no…that is not happening. I've had enough shit to deal with today already."

A couple of Tirkin are busy gathering up Shulk's stuff.

"Hey! Don't you dare!...Right, you're going down!"

Shulk charges towards to two Tirkin making off with his clothes. The towel finally comes lose, although Shulk's too angry to notice. The sight of an enraged and nude Shulk charging towards them proves too much for the Tirkin, and they drop his stuff and flee, squawking in terror.

("Whoa!...I was beginning to think he'd glued that towel on.")

"Finally, a little luck; I thought I was going to end up having to spend my savings on a new outfit at colony 6…wait a second…"

A grinning Fiora hands him a towel…the one he isn't wearing anymore.

"Ah…umm…oops!"

A red faced Shulk quickly pulls his clothes back on. In the meantime Reyn and Fiora have a whispered chat.

_"Hey Fiora, I bet that was a bit of an eye opener!"_

_"You're telling me…when did he put that muscle on? Last time I saw him bare chested he looked a bit scrawny, but was that the beginnings of a six pack I could see?..."_

_"Oh that…he's been joining me for my morning workout session for the last year. For someone who spends so much time indoors he's a lot fitter than you'd expect, and he seems to put on muscle really fast when he puts the effort in."_

_"…and his legs have got such a nice tone to them now…"_

_"…uh…are you still listening to me?..."_

"Okay then…I'm decent again…can we just…you know…try to forget this."

"Water under the bridge Shulk; you have got your shorts on inside out though."

"What…aw bugger."

"More haste, less speed."

("Hehehe…Not bad Shulk! Not bad at all…")

"So…we gonna head on over to that camp Juju told us about?"

"…what…oh, sorry! Yes, we'll make our way over now. Have you got everything Shulk?"

"Yeah…looks like it…_well, except my dignity…_"

"Ah come on, stop worrying Shulk, what's a little accidental exposure amongst friends anyway?"

The three of them head towards the camp. As they get there Sharla and Juju spot them.

"As, so you must be the ones who sorted Juju out; I trust you didn't have too much trouble with the tirkin?"

"I guess he told you about the towel business then. Close call, but I managed to rescue my gear."

"Well, it's good to see some friendly faces. The name's Sharla."

"I'm Shulk, and this is Fiora and Reyn."

"You wouldn't happen to be Juju's sister by any chance?"

"I guess you noticed the resemblance. If you're heading for colony 6 I wouldn't recommend going any further than here."

"Why? What's happened?"

"The mechon got the drop on us. We'd got complacent after sword valley and assumed we'd seen the last of them. We couldn't have been more wrong…they launched an intensive offensive; way beyond anything our defences could have coped with, even without them surprising us. When we evacuated they'd already destroyed much of colony; the remains of the defence force covered our escape but…as far as I know nobody else has made it out."

"That's horrible…have you heard any news from them?"

"Nothing so far, although if you're here I guess the messenger party must've reached colony 9."

"I'm afraid not; I think we found…what was left of them in Tephra cave. The arachno got them."

"Damn it!...Hang on, does that mean colony 9 isn't sending help?"

"I'm not sure we could right now, we got hit by the mechon as well. The defence force sustained heavy casualties so I doubt they've got the manpower."

"How did that happen? Doesn't colony have an air defence system, and isn't Dunban…"

Sharla notices Shulk's carrying the Monado.

"…oh no…please tell me they didn't get Dunban."

Fiora notices the colour draining from Sharla's face.

"Dunban made it, so don't worry. The reason Shulk's got the Monado is a bit complicated but…well, Dunban can't use the Monado anymore, although that's probably for the best given what he's put himself through already."

"We managed to drive them off in the end, but we had a rough time though. There was a new kind of mechon; the air defences didn't even mark it. We ended up fighting the thing ourselves…it nearly cost us our lives when we found out the monado didn't work on it. It's only thanks to Fiora we're still here, and she came a hairs breadth from being killed herself."

"A new type of mechon; it didn't have a face by any chance did it?"

"So there was one here as well?"

"I only got to see it briefly myself, but from what I could hear over the coms that thing was what did for us. It was just about unstoppable, and it made a mockery of our defences; anything we put in its path it just obliterated with a massive hammer. I saw it just as we were evacuating; it breached the hangar doors and we got out just in time…I dread to think what it did to the squad that covered our escape."

"Did you say it was wielding a hammer? Sounds like it wasn't the same as the one at colony 9; the one that came after us had huge claws."

"So there's more than one of them now…we need some kind of a plan; we barely survived last time."

"We need to mount a rescue mission to colony 6! We need to get them out of there!"

"Look Juju; I know how you feel but we've already gone over this; and Gadolt trusted us to take care of the evacuees."

"The camp is secure; the mechon aren't smart enough to find it; and every moment we spend here is one more the people we left behind have to try to hold out."

"You know as well as I do there are mechon stationed all over the Guar plains. They're looking for us; and if we're not careful we'll alert them to the camps location."

"We can't just sit here sis! We're as good as abandoning them if…"

Reyn places his hand on Juju's shoulder.

"Sorry to break this to you, but going up against an entire mechon assault force isn't gonna go very well. I know you're upset; I would be too if I was in your shoes, but think about it; what's gonna happen when you run into the mechon?"

Juju raises his gun.

"…I've got this…"

"An assault rifle might work just fine on the wildlife, but mechon are a whole different game. Look at it this way, you can do some good by protecting everyone here."

"…fair enough…"

A somewhat dejected looking Juju slopes away from the conversation.

"I hope he's alright; you don't think I was a bit too blunt with him?"

"It needed to be said Reyn, and hopefully he's got it into his head now that running off to colony 6 isn't an option."

"Yeah, you've got enough problems looking after this place as it is. I know the local wildlife isn't exactly friendly and I can't see anyone here apart from you who actually looks like they could be a serving member of the defence force."

"The evacuees are all people who couldn't fight; so everyone here is either too young, too old or in too poor health to consider fighting the mechon. We're not completely defenceless mind; Juju's a pretty good shot for his age, Earnest knows how to handle the wildlife, and some of the old timers haven't lost their aim; but against mechon we know it'd end in a massacre."

"Juju does have a point though; we need to do something. The mechon have already started patrolling parts of plains so I'm not sure how much longer it'll be safe here."

"Any ideas then Fiora?"

"I'd say we've got two realistic options. The first is to try to get everyone here to colony 9; and the second is to infiltrate colony 6 and cripple the mechon outpost that's no doubt there now, and that should force them to retreat."

"I think we need to think both options through. I know it'd be a major stretch on our resources but ideally we should get both of those plans underway."

"That's not gonna be easy Shulk; there's a lot we don't know about colony 6, and we don't have an easy way of evacuating the camp."

"Ah, I'd forgotten the transports were wrecked in the assault. Dickson will have been doing something about that mind you."

"If we don't have them available though the only other way out is by foot; and that would mean trying to get everyone here through Tephra cave."

"That's not a pleasant prospect. It's full of arachno and I doubt we could protect everyone if we got swarmed again; and if anybody got separated they'd get picked off in no time."

Sharla seems to zone out for a moment.

"Are you okay Sharla?"

"…If we evacuate the camp now…we're effectively abandoning anyone left at colony 6. I'm not ready to give up on them…but I've been trusted with the safety of everyone here. If we try to mount an offensive on the mechon we'll be putting everyone here in even greater danger."

Fiora puts her arm around Sharla.

"Then what we do is what Shulk suggested; we try to get both plans underway. It won't matter how the mechon react if we can get everyone to safety first. We'll get in contact with Dickson and find out what the state of play is with the transports. I reckon he could get something working as an emergency measure in a pretty short space of time, and if we can get everyone here to kneecap hill even one transport will be enough to take everyone to colony 9 in a few short trips. Once we've done that we can head straight for colony 6."

"Moving a large number of people across the plains without alerting the mechon isn't going to be easy Fiora, and they'll still be exposed at kneecap hill."

"Which is why everything will have to happen fast; the main limiting factor will be how long it'll take to get some kind of transport ready. If we can have the transport waiting at kneecap hill the exposure problem won't be an issue anymore."

"There is one further problem. If the mechon are watching colony 9 they'll almost certainly spot the transport."

"Ah…damn…well, I suppose when we call Dickson we could pick Dunban's brains while we're at it."

"You seem to be pretty friendly terms with Dunban Fiora."

"Well Sharla, he is my brother so we try to get along."

At that moment the sound of the buggy's engine starting can be heard.

"Juju! Oh hell! What is he thinking!"

"He must've overheard when we were talking about the evacuation plan."

"We need to catch up with him and straighten things out."

As the party make their move Shulk has another vision. It seems to be split into three pieces, the first showing Juju trying to flee from something, the second showing Sharla being crushed by a mechon mantrap on the end of a mechanical tentacle, and the third the silhouette of a faced mechon. The sudden shock makes Shulk stumble, but both Reyn and Fiora notice the momentary blue glow from his eyes.

"Shulk, are you okay?"

"…Sharla…you need to stay here…"

"Not a chance; Juju's my little brother, there's no way I'm just going to sit here and…"

"Was it another vision Shulk?"

"Yes Fiora; we need to find Juju fast. He's in danger from something; but I saw a mechon kill Sharla…"

"I'm sorry Shulk, but would you please stop talking nonsense."

"I know this is a bit had to believe Sharla, but when Shulk has one of his visions, he sees something from the future."

"It's more than a bit hard to believe Reyn; and I don't care what you think you saw, I'm coming with you. Besides, I know this area better than you do."

"But Sharla!..."

Fiora steps in front of Shulk.

"Shulk; don't try to stop her. We know Juju's in danger; the rest; we can change."

"I'm afraid Fiora…I don't know if I can change the future again."

"It's not just you now Shulk; you've told all of us about the vision this time. We all know what to watch out for now so you've already increased our chances of success."

"Trust Fiora on this Shulk; we can all do something now. Was there anything else important in that vision?"

"Two more things Reyn; I saw Juju trying to escape from something…and I think a faced mechon."

"Then we really can't afford to hang about with this. Juju's definitely in a lot of danger; if we leave Sharla behind we won't find him as quickly, and that'll probably mean we can't save him."

"I…see what you mean now Reyn. I didn't see Juju die in the vision but when you put it like that it's obvious he's depending on us."

"Are you three quite finished with this vision malarkey?"

"Let's get going, we can talk on the way."

The four of them hurry out of the camp. Fiora continues the conversation with Sharla

"I guess all of this vision stuff must sound like madness to anyone who hasn't seen it action."

"I'll happily give any one of you a psychiatric examination if you want me to."

"A few days ago I might've taken you up on that offer, but I know Shulk's visions are what he claims them to be. He's managed to save my life more than once thanks to them."

"…Well I guess we'll just see. You seem pretty sane to me Fiora so I'll try to keep an open mind."

Shulk interrupts the conversation.

"The vision wasn't very detailed, but we know three key things we need to deal with. The first is recuing Juju; I think if we can catch up with him fast enough we'll accomplish it."

"…what sort of surroundings did you see Shulk; I'm familiar with the area so I might have some idea of where he's supposed to run into trouble."

"There was some kind of rock structure. I think he was on a plateau with some natural rock pillars supporting another above him."

"…Interesting; have you ever explored the Guar Plains before Shulk?"

"No, never; why'd you ask Sharla?"

"You just gave a pretty good description of Spiral Valley. It's not far from the Bask Cave passage that leads to colony 6…and it would make sense that Juju would go past it…but not into it."

"I guess that means we know where to head now; so that's gonna save us some time already."

"That helps with the first. The second major problem is…well…you getting killed Sharla."

"A mechon mantrap…I don't think face mechon have those so it'll be something else; ah mechon ahead!"

The party head towards a mechon formation near the Lake Raguel bridge.

"Reyn, you keep Sharla safe! I'll back Shulk up!"

"Got you Fiora!"

The party charge the mechon. With the Monado on their side they make short work of them, and thanks to Reyn none of them even get close to Sharla.

"Well I'm safe so far."

"I think it was some kind of new mechon. The mantrap was on the end of some kind of long mechanical tentacle."

"That doesn't sound nice; but I guess it means it wasn't a regular mechon that got you so perhaps we can worry a bit less about these patrol units."

"…something about those two parts of the vision…Juju trying to flee…you getting grabbed…you were on your own Sharla; I couldn't see any of us with you."

"So I guess you'll be okay if you don't get separated from us."

"I doubt it's going to be quite that simple though Reyn."

"It never is; remember Tephra cave?"

"I'd rather not Fiora…hang on, is that what I think it is?"

The party make their way onto the bridge and find…

"That's Juju's buggy; where is he? What happened here?"

"No signs of a struggle…and some footprints; so I think he's just continued on foot."

"What the hell is wrong with his head? First he runs off, and then he ditches the buggy; without it he's going to have a hard time keeping ahead of the mechon."

"…I think I see what's gone wrong. Something broke the barrier and knocked it into the road, and it looks like he clipped it. The suspensions been knocked out of alignment and without fixing it the buggy will be just about unusable."

"So he just continues on foot; sigh, at lease we've got a better chance of catching up with him now."

"Hey Shulk, do you think you could fix this?"

"Now that you mention it Fiora, I probably could; but there's not enough room for four on it. We'd have to split up to make use of it, and given what was in that vision I really don't think that'd be wise."

"...Let's just hurry on."

"Yeah, there's still that faced mechon to worry about; if we're quick enough we might be able to get to Juju before it turns up."

"Sharla, what sort of information were you able to gather regarding that faced mechon at colony 6?"

"Very little conclusive info beyond the simple fact we couldn't stop it, and its offensive capabilities far exceeded a comparably sized normal mechon."

"Same as Metal Face then…wait a moment; did anything do it any damage at all?"

"Nothing significant; I heard something about it shielding its face when the squads opened up on it with ether rifles, and I did notice some bullet scars on its arm, but aside from that nothing even marked it; even a mining charge only knocked it back."

"It's ether then; definitely. I think we might have something to work with after all."

"Would you mind explaining what you just said?"

"Ah, sorry Sharla, I guess we haven't given you details of our fight with the one at colony 9. To begin with me, Reyn and Dunban took it on. Most of the fight was pretty one sided; at best we could make it stumble but nothing we did to it even marked its armour; and much to our horror that included the Monado. We did what we could but it wasn't long before it basically had us at its mercy. We thought were done for, but Fiora saved us by rushing it with the mobile artillery, which had some prototype ether shells loaded in its main cannon."

"I managed to get a shot into it; and that did damage its head and knocked it to the ground…hang on, did either of you two notice the light on its body changed after it got up again?"

"Now that you mention it Fiora I did notice something; at the time I wasn't sure whether it was just me but I have to agree with you, the light did change."

"That's interesting; I missed that myself but I did…well…lose my cool a bit after…it tried to kill you Fiora."

"Well, to cut a long story short after I blasted it with those ether shells it became vulnerable to the Monado, and Shulk managed to do it some more damage and drive it off."

"What's particularly telling in all of this is that the ether shell was the first thing that did it any real damage; and before that it shrugged off a direct hit from the air defence batteries, which are a lot more powerful that the artillery."

"Mechon always were susceptible to ether; I guess these new faced mechon haven't completely overcome that weakness after all."

"Still, it took a direct hit at point blank range with a high powered ether shell just to weaken its armour. I don't think any of us can up with an ether technique even close to matching that kind of power, so we're some way from having an effective plan."

"Any other ideas?"

"That light might be some kind of indicator; Metal Face retreated shortly after it changed so I'm wondering if perhaps it's part of some sort of barrier. The Monado was able to damage it after it changed; maybe its ability to resist ether might weaken as well?"

"So if we force the light to change maybe they'll have the same weaknesses as normal mechon. Tricky part is figuring out how to do that; anything else?

"Dickson's been working on the problem of mechon armour for some time now, and I know he'd had a bit of a breakthrough recently. It turns out mechon armour's simply much harder than most metals native to bionis so that's why breaching it's so difficult with normal weapons; if you use Mechonis based metals you can cut through it. I know he was in the early stages of manufacturing some weapons made of recycled mechon plate; while I hadn't heard anything in terms of results…well, you know Dickson. If he thinks it's going to work then it probably will."

"Might have to continue this line of thought later; we've got trouble up ahead."

"The high road's crawling with mechon; so I guess he'd take low road."

"No, he'd definitively take the high road. It's more direct and he knows how to sneak past mechon. The low road leads through Ragnirar canyon, which is infested with extremely dangerous creatures; it'd be suicide for us let alone Juju on his own."

"I think this might be our chance to catch up with him. He'll be keeping a low profile to sneak past those so if we just force our way through we'll be moving a lot quicker him."

"That's a lot of mechon Fiora."

"We've got the Monado on our side though; and they're probably a search patrol. If we scrap them here it'll probably one less thing threating the camp."

"Nice reasoning; let's do this!"

The party charge the mechon formation. While individually weak, the numbers of mechon prove slightly problematic. Fortunately Shulk manages to stay one step ahead of them thanks to the visions, and the party out-manoeuvre the mechon and avoid being overwhelmed. Within a short space of time the mechon are destroyed.

"Okay, we're clear now; still can't see Juju though…no wait, that rock formation in the distance; that was in the vision."

"That's the top of Spiral Valley; we'd need to go past it rather than through it to get to colony 6 though; in fact all it leads to is a route down to Ragnirar canyon."

"I'm pretty sure that's where we'll find Juju."

"Well let's not waste any more time Shulk."

The four of them hurry towards Spiral Valley. As they approach they notice something.

"Is it just me or is there some movement over there?"

"That's the Bask Cave passage that leads to colony 6; I'll check it out Reyn."

Sharla raises her rifle and looks down the sight.

"Well spotted; it's another mechon patrol, but it's heading back towards colony 6."

"That's it! That's why Juju went into Spiral Valley! He must've been hiding from the patrol."

Sharla swings her rifle around to take a closer look at the Spiral Valley plateau.

"I see him! He's hiding on the lower plateau and he seems to be okay; if we run we can get to him!"

The party break into a full run to get to him.

"We're going to make it! Juju! Over here!"

"I don't think he can hear us yet Shulk."

As the party get closer they notice something.

"Juju's still trying to hide from something…that doesn't make sense, the patrol's heading away."

"Maybe he just realised how much danger he was getting into and fear took over…Juju! We're coming!"

"Sharla…shhh…I think I've just figured out what happened in the vision."

"What, but we're nearly…"

"Something's on the plateau with Juju…that's why he's trying to hide now…and I think it's going to try and use him as bait. That's why you were on your own Sharla; you must've panicked and rushed to him."

"I can't see anything…"

"The top plateau; the angle we're at is blocking our view."

"…Look, I'm not waiting here for something to happen to Juju. We need to get to him right now."

"I agree with you Sharla; but don't shout to him; it might blow his cover."

"Speaking of which, we don't have any so I think we'd better just do this fast."

The party rush onto the Spiral Valley plateau; they quickly reach Juju.

"Juju! Are you…"

"Shhh! It's near!"

"…Just as I thought. What're dealing with Juju?"

"Some kind of new mechon; I think it's supposed to be a mass capture unit. It's got lots of tentacles…with mantraps."

"That ties in with the vision; I guess the best bet now is just stick together and get out of here."

"I'm with you there Shulk. I reckon…"

A tentacle breaks through the upper plateau; with an open mantrap at its tip. It smashes into the ground inches from the party.

"…we shut up and run!"

The party try to escape from Spiral Valley. As they approach the bridge another tentacle loops around the edge of the plateau and shoots towards them. It heads straight for Juju, but Reyn intercepts it. He blocks the mantrap jaws with his gunlance but he's forced back by the impact. A second tentacle shoots towards them; Sharla blasts it and sends it careering into one of the pillars. It rebounds and slams into the ground near Juju, knocking him away from the party. Shulk activates the enchant function of the Monado; Reyn forces the mantrap to one side and then smashes his gunlance down on the base, severing the tentacle; the remains of it withdraw rapidly and then the mechon swings itself down from the upper plateau, revealing its main body. It has many, many more mantrap tipped tentacles. It lands near Juju's position and advances on him. He starts to run, but the mechon sends some of its tentacles through the ground.

("No! This is same scenario I saw in the vision!")

Expecting Sharla to charge towards Juju at any moment; Shulk draws the Monado and sprints towards his position. He sees the ground start to bulge as he closes the distance; he has little trouble dodging the tentacles thanks to his visions, but he notices the ground below Juju start bulge. He knows he can't make it in time and shouts to Juju.

"Juju! Below you! Dodge!"

Juju jumps to the side just in time; several more tentacles emerge from the ground though and Juju lands awkwardly. Thankfully Fiora has managed to outrun Shulk and gathers up Juju, scooping him onto her shoulders. Sharla blasts some of them away, but there are just too many for her to shoot them all. Shulk tries to draw on a vision to find a way of saving them, instead he feels a pulse from the Monado. Time suddenly seems to slow and he notices a new symbol has appeared on it.

("I guess this is the moment of truth; please…just give me something more, just like last time.")

Shulk feels the Monado release its power, and the mechon seems to slow down. Sharla blasts away all but one of the slowed tentacles, and Fiora easily dodges the remaining one. As it impacts with the ground they notice the rubble and dust seems to hang in the air.

"Nice one Shulk! It's not gonna catch us now."

Reyn rushes up to the grounded tentacle. Before it can retract he brings his gunlance down on it; the mantrap crumples under the impact, rendering it useless. Realising it's now at a disadvantage the mechon retreats, pulling itself to the upper plateau.

"Guess it realised it couldn't win in straight fight."

"We need to follow it; if we stay here it'll just pull the same trick it did when it ambushed us."

The party quickly make their way to the upper plateau.

"So I guess this was the thing that did for me in that vision you had Shulk."

Shulk activates the enchant function of the Monado again.

"Well, it's not going to be the future anymore; let's end this."

Fiora rushes at the mechon and then changes her course, running around it. It sends a tentacle out in a wide swing, but she slides under it, and then Shulk severs it before it can retract. It then tries to repeat the tactic of striking from below, but it doesn't seem to have realised that tactic has a serious flaw; it's immobilised with its tentacles stuck in the ground. Already accelerated by the Monado; Shulk, Reyn and Fiora have little difficulty in keeping the remaining tentacles occupied.

"You know something Juju; you were right about mechon not being very smart; it just made itself a sitting duck."

Sharla fires round after round into the immobilised mechon. With it pinned in place the shots tear clean through it. Within a few seconds the mechon stops moving, its legs give way and the lights on its body go out. On closer examination they can see daylight streaming right through it.

"I'm starting to find the idea of your visions a bit more believable now Shulk. I'm not totally convinced, but at the very least I'd say you've a hell of knack for reading the situation."

"It's not over yet Sharla. We might've changed the future, but there's one part of the vision left."

"The face mechon; I think we should get out of here…"

The low roar of a mechon flight unit cuts through the air.

"…too late. How're you holding Shulk?"

Shulk tightens his grip on the Monado.

"It won't be like last time Fiora. You have my word."

* * *

If there are any parts of these stories you're finding difficult to follow (such as the three and four way conversations), or any parts where you feel i've left out important details feel free to PM me. I know I sometimes skip a bit on the battle scenes, and i'm not really includng any of the general battle encouters or the side quests into the stories at present. The side quests and some of their associated characters will get more of a mention after the ether mine events due to the significance of colony 6 throughout the rest of the game. As for the battles, if you think there needs to be more of them and in more detail just let me know.

I appologise if the quality of the writing is a bit off in places as well. If you find any mistakes, or there's a continuity error feel free to tell me and i'll try to address it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

The mechon lands on the plateau and transforms. It's a face mechon, but shorter and considerably stockier than metal face with a rust like colouration as opposed to Metal Face's dark tones. It's carrying an enormous hammer, and unlike Metal Face its mouth isn't wired shut.

"That's not Metal Face."

"It's the one that attacked colony 6."

The mechon starts to talk.

"So you're the ones who sent Metal Face off with his tail between his legs. Can't say you're much to look at Monado boy, but considering Metal Face is still getting repaired I guess looks can be deceiving."

"Who are you?"

"The names Xord, and you'll find unlike Metal Face I'm no coward…"

"You'll pay for what you did to colony 6!"

"I think you'll find the place has got a well overdue makeover. Hard work mind; hard enough to work up an appetite; and the five of you look like a proper smorgasbord from where I'm standing."

Xord readies his hammer and battle commences.

"Hate to break it to you Monado boy, but you ain't got a thing I'm even gonna notice!"

Xord proves just as resistant to the Monado as Metal Face; but Shulk, Reyn and Fiora notices he is fortunately considerably slower.

"How the hell do we hurt him?"

"Just…keep trying! We've got a speed advantage so just keep trying different parts of him; try to find a weak spot or something."

He party keep trying to strike different parts of Xord; his amour doesn't seem to have any weak spots though.

"Nice try pipsqueaks; I take it back what I said about not noticing; that actually tickles!"

The fight continues, with Xord proving even sturdier than Metal Face. Despite his lack of speed he's completely unrelenting, and the party find continuing to dodge Xord's lethal hammer swings increasingly tiring.

"…this…isn't good…"

"Got an idea Shulk…don't waste your energy with the enchant function. The Monado doesn't seem to work on him right now…use the speed function…"

"That won't help us damage him Fiora…"

"It'll keep us going…we just need to stay ahead of him…I've got a hunch that if we can draw out the fight…something'll change…"

Shulk activates the speed function. From their perspective Xord becomes slower, giving them some breathing room.

"huff.…So what's the plan?"

"I'll be honest with you Shulk…huff…it's more of a gamble…but look at the light on his body…huff…is it just me or does it seem to get brighter when we attack him?"

"Guess now that we're faster we can afford to take a few chances. You two stay back and watch, see what happens."

Shulk and Reyn use their speed boost to make several attacks on Xord. Fiora and Sharla observe the effects.

"There's definitely something happening…he seems to get a bit brighter when you hit him Reyn, and even more so when Shulk does."

"Is it some kind of barrier? Maybe we can overload it if we synchronise our attacks."

"The speed boost's wearing off so if we're gonna do something; we need to do it now."

"Any luck with the visions Shulk?"

"…Yes! I can make him leave an opening with his next swing!"

Shulk moves into Xord's strike range. Xord attempts to land a downward swing on him, but accidently puts too much force behind the strike. Shulk's already clear of the impact point before the hammer has even finished descending. The hammer strikes the ground with enough force to embed itself in the rock.

"…Now!"

On Fiora's mark they synchronise their attacks. Shulk lands a slash on Xord's body; Reyn follows up with a thrust from his gun lance at the same point; Fiora lands a jumping kick on the back of the gun lance, adding power to the strike; and then Sharla lands a shot in the same space. The light on Xords body flares even more brightly than before and the ether round leaves a noticeable mark on his armour, and once the light settles it's slightly dimmer than it was before as well.

"Is that all you got? Well, as fun as it's been I haven't got all day so the gloves are just gonna have to come off now!"

Xord pulls the hammer out of the ground with as much force as he can muster. In the process he sends a cascade of rocks flying in all directions. Fiora, Reyn and Shulk only just manage to throw themselves clear. Visions suddenly start appearing before Shulk again, but in a similar manner to how they occurred during the fight with Metal Face, and to an even greater extreme. Colour starts to drain away from the world, and time itself seems to slow as the visions race by, although unlike last time, they're inconsistent. One moment he sees Reyn being hurled from the plateau, the next he sees Xord stamp on Sharla, but none of the visions show them all surviving.

("Dammit! This isn't happening! I just need more power…so please…help me…give me what I need. I'm not going to let any of them die…no matter what it takes!")

Suddenly time grinds almost to halt. The symbol on the monado changes again and Shulk hears a voice.

"Do you wish for power? Is your desire the hard forged power of yourself, or to be gifted with the unsealed power of the monado?"

"Whichever will be enough to save them!"

"Not the response I was expecting, but a revealing one none the less. You clearly desire power for a particular purpose rather than for its own sake. I suppose forcing your hand right now would be a distinctly low thing to do and I want any choices you make in this matter to be by your own free will. Very well, consider this a goodwill gesture, but we will meet again, and I will require a decision next time. Just bear in mind that everything has price when the time comes."

The symbol on the Monado then vanishes, and the whole glass section starts to glow brightly. The blade separates further than usual and extends somewhat, and the light becomes dazzlingly intense. Shulk himself starts to emit a blue aura, and his eyes glow a brighter blue than ever before. Shulk feels like he has fire flowing through his veins, and an overwhelming urge to annihilate anything that might threaten his friends.

"So tell me Xord; do mechon feel pain?"

The light of Monado extends further than before. Shulk unleashes a downward strike against Xord. It connects with the top of his head and continues all the way down to the ground, cutting into the rock. Xord recoils, his outer amour layer melted in vertical line from the strike.

"Now that actually hurt. Sounds like Metal Face might've been right about you. Still, it's not like something as minor as that's gonna stop me so I'd better take you out the game right now."

Xord shifts his weight and a loud crack comes from the rock floor.

"…Bugger…"

The part of the plateau where the Monado connected collapses under Xord's weight, sending him crashing into the valley. Shulk's blue aura disappears and the Monado deactivates. A moment later Shulk keels over. Reyn gets to him first.

"Shulk! What's wrong? Shulk! Please, wake up man!

Shulk's out cold and unresponsive. Sharla takes a closer look at him.

"He's under pretty deep, but he's breathing and his pulse is strong, if a little fast. I can't see any obvious physical trauma related injuries so we should be able to move him."

A moment later they hear some noise from the valley.

"Right you little bastards, if you think I'm done you've got another thing coming!...Knackers, fine bloody time for me flight unit to pack in. Go on then, leg it! I'll be seeing you all later…hopefully for dinner…"

Reyn picks Shulk up and the party head back to the camp. He can't help but notice Juju seems to be in a bit of shock.

"….."

"Are you okay Juju?"

"…This is my fault isn't it?"

"…No…I think we would've run into Xord at some point anyway…in fact this might've worked out for the best. At least this way we ended up having Sharla with us; if I'd just been me, Reyn and Shulk I don't think we'd have known what to do."

"Yeah…you're probably right Fiora. Shulk'd probably have pulled that stunt when came across a face mechon anyway."

"I just hope he's gonna be okay."

"He's in good hands so don't worry…but why'd you have to run off?"

"I heard you talking about evacuating the camp."

"I guess you didn't hear the whole conversation Juju. We're not abandoning the people we left at colony 6. We're trying to come up with a rescue plan but we know there's a chance we'd alert the mechon to the camp in the process so we figured we'd better evacuate the camp to a safer place at the same time."

"...I'm…sorry…I should've known…"

"Well I'm not gonna criticise you for jumping the gun; I'd be a hypocrite if I tried. When I was your age I used to do it all the time; got me in a whole heap of trouble as well. Shulk and Fiora usually managed to bail me out, but there was this one time when I screwed up so badly Dunban had to come and rescue me…but I won't go into detail since it was really, really embarrassing."

Fiora manages to make a smile break through her anxious expression.

"Was that the time with the bunnits?"

"Yes it was…and please don't say any more."

"Fair enough Reyn."

The party make a short and uneventful journey back to the camp. By the time they get there Shulk's not showing any signs of improvement, and Fiora's poker face is slipping.

"How's he doing?"

"I don't think anything's changed Sharla. His breathing's still strong, but his heart's still going some; I don't even need to take a pulse properly to feel it."

"Shulk, can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me. No response, he's still out of it."

"How can we help him?"

"I'm not sure. He really needs checking over with some better facilities than these so…"

"Dickson could help! I'll get in contact with him right now!"

Fiora opens a coms link to Dunban.

"Hello Fiora, is something…"

"It's Shulk! We need some help ASAP! He collapsed! The Monado..."

"Whoa, slow down! One thing at a time!"

Fiora composes herself and explains what happened.

"Oh no…we'll get there as soon as we can. Dickson's got the transports almost in complete working order so with any luck he'll be able to jury rig one enough to make the trip. Thanks for calling me Fiora, and hang in there."

The call ends.

"Any joy?"

"Dunban reckons they'll be able to make their way here soon. Any ideas on what's wrong with him?"

"Right now I'm not 100% sure but…he performed a huge ether release with the Monado. There's a pretty good chance it's interfered with his body's ether levels and that could well be what's knocked him out. Problem is the equipment I've got is designed for more conventional types of injury since I'm trained as a field medic. Ether imbalance is normally only caused by very specific illnesses and poisoning; actually diagnosing it requires particular tests which I just can't do with what I've got here, and treating it requires very specific concentrations of opposed types of ether. Get it wrong and you make the problem worse."

"Is there anything we can do in the meantime to help him?"

"If it is ether imbalance then not an awful lot I'm afraid. I'll keep examining him for other possibilities though, and if he has any secondary injuries these will need attention. Is there anything I should know about his medical history?"

"Nothing that I'm aware of I'm afraid…no wait a minute, something about this rings a bell. I think something similar to this happened when he was very young; Dickson might be able to tell you more. Other than that the injuries to his hands are something he picked up at the colony 9 assault; he tore them open when he was fighting Metal Face and they've not really had chance to heal properly."

"That's odd; he's still holding the Monado, his hands must've gone into spasm when he lost consciousness. Reyn, Fiora, could you help me get his hands open, they're shut really tight."

"Okay then…bloody hell! What's with this strength? Even Vangarre doesn't grip like this."

"Let me try something."

Fiora presses her thumb into part of Shulk's wrist and his grip relaxes, freeing the Monado.

"Nice one, what'd you do?"

"A self-defence trick Dunban taught me when I was little. Push your thumb into the nerve and the grip weakens."

"Let's take a proper look...hmm, it doesn't look like he's done himself too much damage but he should have got this treated properly back at colony 9. I'll get these cleaned and dressed properly."

* * *

Meanwhile inside Shulk's head…

Shulk finds himself in a place he distantly remembers. The last time he was here he was a small child. Colour seems to be missing from the world, but he's pretty sure he can see snow and ice, and a large spire like structure which he feels drawn to. He heads for the structure and finds an entrance simply opens for him and he heads inside. Within the structure he finds the monado on a pedestal of sorts, but as he heads towards it his foot catches something. He looks down to see the body of a small boy; on closer inspection he realises the body is actually his, although as a child.

"This must be where we found the monado, but why am I dead? I was the only survivor; come to think of it why am I the only one here?"

Shulk hears a voice identical to his own.

"Apologies for this somewhat morbid scene, necessity dictated I gauge your reaction."

"Who are you, and why do have my voice?"

"Ah, the reaction I was hoping for; you seek answers."

"Wouldn't anyone?"

"You'd be surprised how many people would simply lose their cool and act irrationally confronted with something similar to this. We can't talk here for long I'm afraid and it'll take too long to explain what this place is so I'll get to the point. You're currently unconscious due to ether imbalance, but it won't take long for you to recover."

"That must be from where I managed to get something extra out of the monado."

"Yes, and I'm sure you remember hearing a voice then as well. That was the will of the monado."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm an aspect of the monado, but also an aspect of you."

"That doesn't make sense."

"We're pushed for time so you'll just have to trust me for now. You partially unsealed the monado for a moment, but the extra power you drew during this wasn't properly controlled and injured you. Next time you won't get off as lightly, so you'll need to find a way of making the release more controlled. The monado responds to a strong will, and against expectations you've already overpowered its first seal, but it still won't cooperate entirely without fulfilling certain requirements. A limited form of release should be possible without serious side effects by either submitting to the monado or subjugating it, although a true release won't be possible until the seals have actually been removed."

"You said something about submitting to the monado…"

"…damn…we're running out of time, I can feel it stirring. Listen, hopefully you won't have to make that decision, and if you properly unseal the monado it ceases to be an issue, but if you find yourself forced to make a choice just remember, nothing is free. Subjugating the monado will be very difficult, but submission will be costly…"

"…Give it back…"

"What was that?"

"It's found you. You need to wake up as soon as you can."

"…Give it back…It doesn't belong to you…Give back what you stole!"

Shulk can see another figure approaching him. This figure looks like him, but its hair is slightly longer, covering its eyes. The figure is also naked, and Shulk notices its skin's burned, covered with a pattern reminiscent of the scars on Dunban's arm.

"Who is that, and why does he look like me?"

"No matter what, remember, that is not you. You're not ready to face him Shulk, you need to run now."

"Wait a second, where am I supposed to run? I don't even know what this place is!"

"Away from him! Just keep away until you wake up!"

"You're going to pay…you're nothing but a lie…you're not even Shulk, you worthless fake!"

The figure starts to move more quickly.

"What are you waiting for! Run, now! Or you'll find out there are worse things than dying!"

Shulk starts to run. The wall of structure opens to allow him to escape and closes after him, but figure tears through the wall.

"I own this place…I own you!"

Shulk continues to run, pleased to find he can outpace the being perusing him. He keeps running for a while and looks back to see he's lost his pursuer.

"Lost him…okay, now I need to wake up…"

"Keep moving! That thing has a degree of control over this place! If you stay still…"

"…You're mine…"

The figure emerges from the snow a few meters to the side of Shulk and lunges at him. Shulk just manages to dodge, but gets at look at its eyes, or rather the absence of them.

"Ahhhh! What the hell is this thing!"

"What am I? I'm the truth. I'm…inevitability."

Shulk falls backwards, only now he's back at colony 9, but the world is still black and white. He looks around and he can see what looks like the assault, but time seems to have stopped, and events have unfolded differently. He can see himself hanging in the air, having jumped over the railings above the water to escape metal face. Reyn's underneath Metal Face's foot, his exposed ribs making it clear he isn't alive. Dunban's collapsed in a pool of his own blood with a huge puncture wound to his neck, dead as well. The mobile artillery is ablaze, most likely with Fiora trapped inside.

"What…this didn't happen!"

"Thanks to your meddling things turned out quite differently. If you'd just been smart enough to follow your instincts and run back then this how it would have turned out. Now of course they're all alive, and very much obstacles to what I want, and for that…I'll make you watch."

The figure advances on a prone Shulk, but he suddenly hears Sharla's voice.

"…something's not right…risky, but it'll work…okay then, if you both agree, we do it…"

Shulk feels a surge of adrenaline rush through his body and he's able to move. The figure tries to grab him, but only manages to grasp his shoulder, and Shulk shakes him off. Colour starts to return to the world, but it also starts to blur.

"So it was her interference this time...she'll be the first then…enjoy what little time you've got left…you lie."

* * *

Shulk regains consciousness.

"You did it Sharla, he's waking up!"

"He's not out of the woods yet; I forced him to wake up but the imbalance still needs treating."

"Shulk my man, welcome back!"

"Ohhh…Reyn…Fiora…Sharla…you're all here."

"Of course we are…you don't think he's forgotten?"

"He might be missing the end of our encounter with Xord so…"

"No, it's okay, I remember all of that…just a really horrible nightmare while I was under…I feel like I've just swam a mile…"

"Don't try to move Shulk, you're suffering from an ether imbalance and it might be affecting your muscles; too much strain could do you damage at the moment."

"Don't worry, you're going to be okay; I've called Dunban, and he's on his way with Dickson so we should be able to treat you properly soon."

"Dunban? I'll be glad to see him, make sure he's okay."

"What's the matter Shulk?"

"Sorry…it's that nightmare, it was just so real; it was more like some sort of hallucination."

"Well don't worry; I was speaking to him over the coms just a few minutes ago."

"You look dreadful, was it anything like what happened at Tephra Cave?"

"Worse…"

"I thought you were just suffering a bit of discomfort from the imbalance. Does anywhere hurt at the moment?"

"Just a dull ache through all my muscles and strong light headedness…no wait, there is something else; some altered sensation in my shoulder."

"I looked you over a little earlier and didn't see anything so perhaps you've hurt your neck…no wait a minute, how did I miss that? You've got a burn on your shoulder."

"Yeah, I can see it now…that's really weird; it looks a little bit like a handprint."

Shulk goes very pale at this.

"You alright Shulk?"

"No…I…that can't be."

Shulk starts to turn green.

"Get a bucket!"

Reyn gets there just in time as Shulk throws up.

"Dammit! I'm sorry Shulk, I shouldn't have forced you to wake up; you need to rest until you're cured. Here, I've got some sedatives that might help…"

"Please don't! Give me something to stay awake."

"Something's…really wrong here. Until we get this sorted we're going to need to keep him under constant observation. If the imbalance is causing nightmares that severe there's a chance he'll start hallucinating while he's conscious."

"You're gonna be okay Shulk, we're here for you."

"If you don't mind me asking; what did you see?"

"I'm not sure how to put this...I think the monado tried to communicate with me while I was under. The experience wasn't like a dream, it felt just like the visions before, but I saw pieces of the past rather than the future. It was trying to tell me something important but we were interrupted…I don't know what the hell that thing was, I just hope it doesn't exist in the flesh."

"Something interrupted your vision?"

"It…took control of what I was seeing, and then it tried to grab me. It managed to catch my shoulder just before I woke up, and I could still feel it afterwards."

"…a handprint shaped burn."

"It could just be coincidence; or it might be the vision responded to external stimuli."

"I wonder what could've caused a burn like that in the first place then?"

Fiora suddenly turns pale.

"No…it can't happen again. Not you as well, please."

"Fiora, what's wrong?"

"It's got the same pattern to it as the burns on Dunban's arm."

"So you think the Monado caused this?"

"Actually that would make sense, and it ties in with something from the vision. It warned me that next time I released the Monado like that I'd need to have it properly controlled, or the consequences wouldn't be good."

"Shulk, you can't do that again. You'll end up like Dunban."

"I think I'll be okay using it the same way as I did before we fought Xord. It explicitly mentioned something about me overpowering one of the seals, so I guess…"

"Promise me Shulk."

"Fiora?"

"Promise me you won't try to perform a release with it again."

"It said something about there being a way of controlling it so hopefully I'll be able to figure something out, and on top of that it was trying to tell me there was a way of actually unsealing it properly."

"Shulk…"

"Okay, I promise (…as long as we don't end up in that sort of situation again. If things are looking dire then it'll be a risk worth taking.)"

* * *

Back at colony 9 Dunban and Dickson are having a little chat at the weapons lab.

"Are you absolutely sure you're ready for this Dunban?"

"Definitely; I feel better than I did before we were attacked now, and we'd have managed back then if it'd just been bog standard mechon."

"Okay then…to be honest I'm glad you're coming with me. I think I might finally be losing my touch."

"What makes you say that?"

"I should've been there during the attack. I was at a meeting with the brass when the attack started and they ordered me to stay and cover their backsides. I should've told those cowards where they could stick it and got myself into the fray; and I should've known those kids would've tried to do something instead of just running for the shelter."

"Well you won't have to worry about that happening again Dickson."

Dunban flashes the new insignia on the side of his jacket.

"So they finally had to accept reality; that was a long time coming…General Dunban."

"They're still expecting me to be a non-combatant mind. As soon as I've officially stamped the authorisation for our little trip I'm handing in my resignation…"

"That won't be necessary."

A wheelchair bound and heavily bandaged Vangarre interrupts the conversation.

"As a colonel I can take command of the defence force in your absence so don't worry about it. Anybody who's got a problem with that is gonna find out the hard way I can get a pretty decent top speed out of this thing."

"How's the prognosis regarding your injuries?"

"Aside from a bit of weight gain thanks to all the metalwork in my bones I'm looking at a full recovery."

"How on bionis did you recover so quickly? It wasn't that long ago you were in the ICU."

"We've got some bloody good medics in the force; hell, they put you back together again after sword valley; and it turns out Mefimefi is a bit of an artiste with healing ether on top. Look, don't worry yourself about all the official channels garbage; the rest of the brass know if they twist their faces about what you're doing and it goes public they'll get lynched. Word's gotten round now about what you and those kids managed to pull off and if they need your help nobody's gonna object to you rushing over to them."

"Well that saves us some time. How's the transport situation Dickson?"

"Just need a fresh load of fuel and we're good to go, and the gears already on board."

"I had a quick word with the maintenance lads on the way here and they're pretty sure you've got everything that needed fixing patched up to point where they can handle the rest, so there's nothing else here to hold you two back."

There's a shout from outside.

"All fuelled up!"

"Well then, we'd better make our move. Fiora sounded frantic so I'm pretty anxious as to how they'll all be doing; especially Shulk."

"See you two later then. I'd better go and address the force. I'll bet while I've been out of it Kantz will have gone easy on them, and we can't have them turning into a pack of lily livered spineless chickens; especially now we know the mechon are back."

Dunban and Dickson make their way to an air transport while Vangarre starts to make rounds of the fortress.

"Right then you 'orrible lot! I hope you haven't been slacking while I've been out of it!"

"No sir!"

"Oh really? I'm not too sure I believe you, so we're gonna have a little test. We're all gonna do a lap of the colony, but I'm gonna be chasing you; so you'd better give it some boot leather or you're gonna pick up a few tyre tracks!"

The unfortunate group of soldiers set off at brisk pace; the threat of being run over by Vangarre proving quite a powerful incentive to keep up their speed.

* * *

Meanwhile somewhere on Bionis…

"This most certainly wasn't in the projections."

"I don't think we should be too surprised though. Thanks to the deviations from the scenario he has more to lose, and as a consequence he's in a more unstable mental state."

"Which unfortunately isn't as in our favour as we might have expected. It's worked both ways now; we never expected him to find the will to perform a partial unsealing."

"It might place him in a position of strength when the time comes, but it could just as easily work the other way. The decision is his now, and it would be best if it were a free choice; if his hand is forced and he realises he's being played he'll have a means of resisting."

"That said we may have inadvertently created a contingency."

"I was under the impression that particular plan had been a complete failure; now that its remains have surfaced it might yet serve a purpose."

"Nice to discover one my oldest existing puppets can become useful once again. Whatever his intentions it'll turn out the same as always as far as he's concerned; he's so much a slave to his instincts that I can make him dance to my tune without him even realising."

"I suppose he provides an island of predictability in a sea of chaos."

"I think you're exaggerating somewhat; we might have some degree of unwelcome volatility in our primary charge but outside of that the scenario is playing out mostly as expected; and it would also appear we'll soon have the means to directly apply stabilising factors to the heart of the situation."


End file.
